Self-Created Sequence

"A movie?"

"What is that?"

Hearing this new term, Miss Audrey could not help but feel curious.

"You can think of it as a kind of 'moving painting.' Through a special device, we can record a sequence of images. Like how a camera captures a single moment, except this captures countless moments.

Then, using another device, we project those recorded images onto a screen and play them continuously, allowing them to tell a complete story."

Audrey understood at once, and her imagination was instantly ignited.

No longer static oil paintings, no longer stiff photographs, but images like the real world, where people could laugh, run, and cry... What a marvelous experience that would be!

But then, an even more crucial question turned the excitement on her face into a trace of hesitation.

"Let... everyone see it?"

"Yes, everyone."

"Mr. Edwin."

Hibbert Hall had somehow moved to Audrey's side and was looking at Edwin with a hint of danger in his eyes.

"Your ideas are always astonishing.

"But allowing the daughter of the Hall Family to publicly exhibit her own image—if you will forgive my frankness—that would be improper."

His words were aristocratically tactful, but his stance was incomparably firm.

"Audrey, this is not like performing in a play at a salon.

"To display your image without reservation before countless strangers—the hidden risks and the effect on your reputation are not matters to be decided lightly."

Alfred stepped forward as well. His upright posture, born of military training, brought an invisible sense of pressure.

The brothers' words were like a basin of cold water, dousing the flame that had just been kindled in Audrey's heart.

She looked at her eldest brother's resolute profile, then at her second brother's stern gaze. Her longing for this novel thing was ultimately suppressed by the